SEMINOLE COUNTY, Fla. – Tamara Muller has to dodge the sticks, stumps and branches piled high on her sidewalk all up and down her unincorporated Seminole County neighborhood six weeks after Hurricane Irma blew it all down.
"It smells, it's putting allergens in the air, it's all dried and rotted out," Muller said. "I would think for sure some snakes or rodents are in here. It's gross. I'm not getting too close to find out. I'm sure it's been there long enough that there are some interesting creatures in there."
What worries Muller most is Halloween now one week away.
"Next Tuesday night, it's always a big deal in our neighborhood, have a lot of little kids, over 25, and most of our sidewalks are completely blocked," Muller said. "If it's dark enough there are quite a few branches protruding that little children can start running have their mask on can poke their eyes, don't know if they're going to get snagged, their costumes get snagged."
Many of Muller's neighbors share the same concern.
"It's getting aggravating. I have small children so I don't feel comfortable with them running around out here. Halloween is coming up and I'm sure there are unwelcome critters living in these piles," said Shawn Middleton, also of unincorporated Seminole County. "It's a safety hazard. It needs to be taken care of."
Jerri Wingo is frustrated that the city of Winter Springs was cleaned up weeks ago but still not her unincorporated Seminole County neighborhood.
"I don't want to criticize them because I know they're working as best they can but I don't understand why some areas are getting it quicker than others," Wingo said. "That's what I don't understand."
Jeff Waters, Seminole County Solid Waste Division manager, said 70 percent of the unincorporated county has been cleaned up.
"Hurricane Irma's devastating effects were felt statewide," Waters said. "As a result, debris cleanup contractors have been stretched across Florida and into other parts of the nation that were also impacted by natural disaster this hurricane season. Seminole County has three separate contractors working in the County that bring an array of resources to help with the cleanup effort. These contractors and their sub-contractors provide items such as: debris loading equipment, debris hauling equipment, tree trimmers for dangerous limbs and trees in the public right of way, as well as equipment to mulch the massive amount of vegetative debris."
Waters said you can check the county's progress here.
Orange County said it has collected 50 percent of the debris in the unincorporated parts of the county.
"If one of our debris contractors have already picked up at your house and you have more debris, please bring it out to your curb," Orange County spokesperson Doreen Overstreet said. "More of our contractors are now available and working to pick up additional debris. More than 50 percent of the debris has been picked up within the County."
Click here to view the debris schedule map.
"Please separate vegetative debris (tree limbs, branches, shrubs) – these items should not be bagged. If you have leaves, we ask residents to bag the leaves and the bags will be collected with normal yard waste on the designated day for your neighborhood. Do not block fire hydrants, storm drains, water meters and mailboxes with debris," said Overstreet.
Waters offered these tips for Seminole County residents:
- Curbside collection for storm debris should be placed in the right of way. Residents are urged to keep debris off of roadways, sidewalks, driveways, and out of the way of fire hydrants and mailboxes.
- The county's debris removal contractors are capable of removing all sizes of debris and prefer to have it left in large pieces. If they have to cut debris into smaller pieces in order to load it, they are required to have the tools to do this.
- While there is no limit on large storm debris, small, containerized debris collection is limited to five containers (bags or cans, cans preferred) per week. The county's regular yard waste hauler is collecting small debris.
- If you hire a contractor to do work on your home or remove a tree in your yard, please ask the contractor to properly dispose of the debris as they would do under normal circumstances. Curbside debris collection is intended specifically for storm-related debris and not new bulky vegetative debris.
- Finally, we suspect that illegal dumping of debris is happening around the county. It is illegal to improperly dispose of storm debris or other waste. If you see potential illegal dumping occurring in unincorporated Seminole County, please notify the Seminole County Sheriff's Office and provide location information, 407-665-6650. If illegal dumping is occurring within city limits, contact the respective city's police department.